MANKATO — Claire Faust — former top-level college administrator, city council member, public service advocate and all-around good guy — died Monday at age 89.

His health had been ailing in recent weeks. And after his son sent an e-mail to friends and family urging them to stop by and say good-bye, Faust had a steady stream of well-wishers stopping by his room at Hillcrest Health Care Center.

Faust’s life and work in the Mankato area touched many. He spent 25 years working at Minnesota State University, starting when it was still called Mankato Teachers College. He was a faculty member, principal at the experimental Wilson High School, and top-level administrator under President Margaret Preska.

He took over as vice president for administrative services in the early 1980s when labor unions had just gone on strike.

“Claire ended up having a skeleton staff,” said Dave Cowan, MSU’s director of auxiliary services. “There he was, welcome to vice president of administrative services, and by the way, you don’t have any staff. ... You learn the nuts and bolts of stuff if you’re out there doing the toilets.”

It was during those times that Faust learned how dark labor disputes can be. While helping unload a truck one day, Faust heard a strange noise off in the distance. When he went to his car to leave that day, he learned what that noise was: Someone had shot out the windows of his car and slashed his tires.

But Faust’s tenure at MSU wasn’t characterized by controversy. Instead, he was known as a consensus builder, and someone who truly valued the people around him.

Donna Hensel of the Facilities Management division at MSU said Faust was the kind of man who, every time he came by, would stop and talk to her. He wouldn’t merely just say hi. Faust remembered Hensel’s family, their names, what they did, and he seemed genuinely interested in hearing updates on the Hensel family.

And that’s how he was, friends say, with so many people on and off campus.

“He was just a real kind, considerate man with the best interests of everyone in mind,” Hensel said. “

Colleague Bob Isdahl agreed, calling Faust “a great guy to work with.”

Preska, the former MSU president who hired Faust as a vice president, said Faust’s presence was a positive influence on everyone.

“He was very, very concerned about every person. To him, that was fulfilling. He understood people on a wavelength that doesn’t happen very often,” Preska said. “He helped create a climate where everybody respected each other.”

Faust held a bachelor’s degree from Central College, a master’s degree from the University of South Dakota and a doctorate from the University of Iowa. But higher education wasn’t his entire life.

He also served on Mankato’s City Council from 1987 to 1990. And he was a dedicated member of the Mankato Downtown Kiwanis club.

Cowan, a fellow Kiwanian, said Faust was instrumental in keeping the club alive and active. Faust also recognized the importance of getting youth involved.

Mankato middle schools have a Builders Club, the high schools have a Key Club, and MSU has Circle K — all of which are offshoots of Kiwanis.

“He was the driving force behind that,” Cowan said. “Would we have done the youth stuff without him? Probably not.”

And you can thank Faust for a piece of MSU history that was literally pulled from rubble and turned into a monument.

You’ve seen those arches near the Belltower? They were part of the Old Main annex that perished in a fire. As clean up crews were hauling the debris away, the story goes, Faust drove to the site and ordered the arches to be saved and set aside for future use on the highland campus.